FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
October 8 to12 is Fire Prevention Week, and the Fort Eustis Fire Department is geared up to ensure the post community can beat the heat and stay safe.
The department will host a series of events throughout the week to educate Soldiers and families about fire safety. Activities will include door-to-door visits in post housing, where personnel will perform courtesy smoke detector checks and distribute literature about fire safety.
The department will maintain a presence at the Exchange and Commissary, offering free blood pressure checks, child safety seat inspections and a fire extinguisher demonstration.
Lastly, the fire department will host an open house at the fire station on Oct. 13, where visitors can enjoy free food, a tour of the station and equipment, and a chance to mingle with Sparky the Fire Dog.
Todd Hartsch, the department's fire chief, said this year's theme is "Have Two Ways Out," emphasizing the importance of establishing multiple escape routes in homes in the event of a fire. He shared the following statistics:
- According to a National Fire Protection Association survey, only one-third of Americans have both developed and practiced a home fire escape plan.
- Almost three-quarters of Americans do have an escape plan; however, less than half have actually practiced it.
- Almost two-thirds (62 percent) of reported home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
- Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half.
- In fires considered large enough to activate the smoke alarm, hardwired alarms operated 92 percent of the time, while battery powered alarms operated only 77 percent of the time.
Hartsch also called attention to the dangers of unattended or careless cooking.
"Cooking has been the leading cause of reported home fires within the U.S. This is also true here on Fort Eustis," he explained. "Unattended cooking was by far the leading cause of these fires. Two-thirds of home cooking fires began with ignition of cooking materials, including food, cooking oil, fat, or grease."
Additionally, Hartsch said:
Cooking caused two of every five of reported home fires, roughly one of every seven home fire deaths, and two of every five home fire injuries, and 11 percent of direct property damage from home fires in 2010.
- Ranges accounted for the 58 percent of home cooking fire incidents.
- Ovens accounted for 16 percent.
- Children under five face a higher risk of non-fire burns associated with cooking than being burned in a cooking fire.
- 90 percent of burns associated with cooking equipment resulted from contact with hot equipment or some other non-fire source.
"Although most Fire Prevention Week themes almost always focus on certain factors within the home, there are other areas always mentioned during this important week," Hartsch continued. "For example, heating equipment was the leading cause of home fires in the 1980s, and has remained second as the leading cause of home fires."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Joint Base Langley-Eustis' Fort Eustis Fire and Emergency Services is one of the most highly-trained departments in the world. In addition to allowing our firefighters to attend some of the best advanced training throughout the U.S., we are constantly looking for ways to improve our services to those that work and live on Fort Eustis. We scrutinize every response to ascertain if there was anything we could have done better. We love to receive feedback on the services we provide to the community. If you have feedback, call
878-4281 ext. 354 or submit your response through the Interactive Customer Evaluation website at http://ice.disa.mil/index.cfm?fa=site&site_id=439